Axel
I’m not typically a Seiko fan, but I can unequivocally say that they have hit it out of the park with this piece. This, is just a gorgeous watch, with a beautiful and interesting dial, and some fairly interesting features. Since receiving it, I’ve been wearing it pretty much non-stop, and it’s managed to hold my interest, despite my having several watches that are more expensive from Swiss brands. The vendor also shipped the watch quickly and provided excellent service with the order.The standout for this watch is unquestionably the dial, but don’t be fooled by the photo. The photograph on the Prime Time Shop web-page makes the dial a lighter shade of blue than the dial is in reality, but it is still a fairly impressive dial. With a finely crafted wave pattern, you get an inky blue work of art with three distinct “shadows” of Manta Rays. There’s amazing complexity to the dial, and but for the indices and the text, one can easily imagine you might be looking out of a plane window at the ocean below. It’s a gorgeous and daring watch face to look at, but also genuinely creative effect that Seiko deserves real praise for, and it really succeeds. The outer edges of the dial go to a deeper blue to almost black, and the effect of suggesting the ocean is complex and authentic. And while I have my problems with Seiko as a brand, one thing you have to give them is that they will take chances with things like dials and designs that the more conservative Swiss industry, just never will.The watch itself is in a venerable and famous “Samurai” model configuration, which is to say that the case is large and angular, and that the crown is blessedly at 3, as it should be. I am not fan of watches with crowns at 4 or other places, but that is a purely personal quirk and preference, and I’m just happy that Seiko produces this watch in a case that is “normal.” The case is large, at near 44mm, though the bezel itself slightly overhangs the case, so the mid-case may be slightly smaller than that figure suggests. What’s important to realize is that the lugs are aggressively angled downward, making the watch incredibly wearable. For those who’ve owned previous Samurai models, this watch is exactly the same, in terms of dimensions.The model does boast some upgrades from previous Samurai; there is a ceramic, as opposed to aluminum bezel insert; the crystal is sapphire, and there is a cyclops over the date, which I actually appreciate and which enhances legibility of the date. Whereas this feature on a Rolex seems a little cliche; there’s something about the implementation here that’s fun and insouciant, although I do think the magnifier should have been just a smidge larger. Otherwise, the crown has been reduced in length somewhat, but the watch is the same.One of my favorite features of the watch are the indices and hands. As is typical with almost all Seiko watches, the hands are too short, particularly the seconds and minute hands, but the indices and hands are generously painted with lume. This Samurai model bears what are the Seiko “monster” hands, and they are handsome and attractive. When completely lined up over one another, they produce a charming silhouette of an upright rocket. Overall, the watch is well served by a good set of attractive hands that are great for visibility and communicating what second, minute, and hour it is, at a glance.The watch is also surprisingly comfortable. The bracelet remains the exact same as previous Samurai versions, featuring links which are actually a single piece designed to look like three interlocking pieces, similar to an oyster style bracelet. There are also four micro-adjust positions on the clasp and a smartly integrated, but not terribly useful, diver’s extension.The crown action is solid, with no wiggle to speak of, but screwing down is gritty, which I actually like. There’s something reassuring about it, and the bezel action is best described as a little nutty or rubbery. There’s no definitive "click" to it, but it provides good feedback and it feels high quality.I have three minor complaints about the watch, which, if you can believe it, do not at all reduce my enthusiasm for the piece. It is so much fun to wear and see on my wrist, but these are minor “niggles” which, if they didn’t exist, would boost my enjoyment of the watch into the stratosphere.First, while there is plenty of Seiko’s proprietary “Lumibrite” on the dial, it is shockingly underwhelming. Which is to say, it's very bright but doesn’t last very long. As this is my first ever Seiko diver, I was shocked to realize that the Lumibrite faded so quickly. Although there is a lot applied to the dial, the speed with which it begins to fade is frankly startling. For comparison, the watch which wins the lume-war in my collection is my Omega Seamaster 300 m diver circa 2007, released after Casino Royale. Not only does the lume on that watch match or even exceed Seiko’s lume for brightness, it lasts much longer. That said, when the Seiko is charged, the reflected light is bright enough that it does produce a momentary, though very transient, flashlight-like effect.Second, I am super disappointed that Seiko did not equip this watch with a lumed bezel. Lumed bezels are the future of dive watches and Seiko missed an opportunity to make this a near impossible diver-to-beat, by not including what would have been a standout feature.And third, I was initially apprehensive that the single-segment-link structure would have made the bracelet uncomfortable and affected my enjoyment of wearing the watch, but thankfully, that isn’t the case. That said, a proper three segment link, or oyster style bracelet, would vastly improve both the quality and the wear-ability of the bracelet, and also significantly improve the quality and value of the watch. Seiko has produced relatively good bracelets on watches at lower price points than this model, so I do wish they would reconsider the design, and create a bracelet with more rounded three-segment links that allow the watch to fold neatly.As regards accuracy, the watch is fast. I’ve had it only for two weeks, but it’s gained about two to three minutes a week, which is the only major downside of this piece so far. I’ve been playing with overnight positioning to see if it will have any effect on the time keeping, but so far, I haven’t been able to discover any resting position that will slow the watch down by much if at all. However, I will keep trying, and I am hopeful that the movement will settle down a bit after a month or so of continuous wear. But hey, it’s a Seiko. Grand Seikos aside, the Seiko philosophy of watch-making is “accurate enough.” For an extremely accurate piece, I would wear something else. Let’s see what happens. So far, it isn’t interfering with my enjoyment of the watch. For completeness sake, the watch carries Seiko’s 4R35 movement, with hacking and hand winding. It’s regarded as a relatively robust movement, if a little temperamental. I’ve found their accuracy to be unpredictable/hit and miss.This watch is a fun, attractive, stunner, which is fun to wear, beautiful to look at, and which has an excellent series of features that are hard to beat for the price. Seiko has scored a winning goal here. There is a white dialed version with a honeycomb like motif, and I like the watch so much that I am tempted to also get that version, but for my money, this blue version with the ocean dial and swimming Manta Rays, is the one to get first.If you’re looking for an attractive, fun watch, with excellent value and some great features, at a pretty impressive price, this Samurai is pretty hard to beat. This would make a great gift for a father, son, husband, brother, or boyfriend, etc, who remotely cares about watches. Highly recommended.
